Ideas to repair severely dry/damaged hands

[Kimber]

And I mean BAD. I wash my hands a ton, just because I teach preschool. On top of that, all sorts of nasty stuff was going around and I try to really keep the school germs out of my home to keep my baby healthy. Then my husband picked up the stomach bug and so I did TONS of hand washing and sanitizing at home. Well, my hands aren't even necessarily dry, peeling or bleeding like some people say, but actually discolored. Like you can see a line on my wrists, obviously where the soap and water were frequently. Looks like my hands are tan now and not my arms. What can I do to repair my hands??? And please, no comments on why I shouldn't wash my hands, etc, etc. I am not OCD but I do believe in regular hand washing. I just didn't take good enough care to keep them moisturized during the sick period.

 

[ToughhGal]

I would recommend Carmex healing cream or lotion. They have both. I think one is stronger then the other. I use the lotion on my face daily because I have a light case of eczema but it can still cause my face to be extremely dry and discolored.

 

[messica]

Sounds goofy but cover them in Vaseline and wear a pair of thin gloves overnight.

During the day use a lotion like Episencials (or anything with calendula and probiotics in it) after every time you wash your hands. https://www.episencial.com/products/soothing-cream-3.4oz


The Vaseline will deeply moisturize and soften while the calendula and probiotics will help restore your hands immunities on a cellular level

 

[Kimber]

Sounds goofy but cover them in Vaseline and wear a pair of thin gloves overnight.

During the day use a lotion like Episencials (or anything with calendula and probiotics in it) after every time you wash your hands. https://www.episencial.com/products/soothing-cream-3.4oz


The Vaseline will deeply moisturize and soften while the calendula and probiotics will help restore your hands immunities on a cellular level

Awesome! Found it on amazon! What is calendula?

 

[messica]

A great bitty blog on the healing properties of calendula, I make the infused oil at least once a year to use directly on bug bites: https://mountainroseblog.com/healing-calendula/


I did daycare and had the same problem washing hands and disinfecting surfaces so many times a day. Calendula is the only thing that saved my skin in the winter time especially.

I love all of Episencials products in general. Their diaper cream is second to none too

 

[Equreuil]

My mom swears by this udder cream that comes in a square green tin. I forget the brand, but I always see it by the other lotions and creams. She's a nurse and washes/sanitizes her hands constantly, resulting in super dry skin. It looked a lot like vaseline...

 

[Vickie]

I find that Aquafor works really well for me.

 

[Ashla]

Also, what soap are you using? I buy a special soap to use at home as I tend to wash my hands a lot. It is called Microshield (TM) and is pH7 so it doesn't dry your hands out nearly as much as most soaps do. It is stocked in all the hospitals in Australia (my DH works in Health) so is specifically designed for people who are always washing their hands. And while my hands still get dry, it is nothing like how they used to get.